Into the Ministry
by cyher
Summary: Harry&Co. have left Hogwarts and applied for jobs with the Ministry of Magic. Virtually all dark activities have ceased since GoF, so the MoM still believes all is well. Harry and friends know better, but what can they do at the bottom of the food chain?
1. Default Chapter

Title: Into the Ministry  
Author: Cyher  
Summary: Harry & Co. have joined the Ministry of Magic, but it's not quite as glamourous as they thought it would be.  
Disclaimer: Me? Own Harry Potter? You must be mad! Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling, her publishers, and Warner Brothers. They make all the money, too.  
  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"It's just not fair!" Ron shouted as he kicked a garden gnome over the fence. Harry and Hermione watched him silently while he fumed. Two days after graduation from Hogwarts they all applied for jobs within the Ministry of Magic, and now, a week later they had their answers. Harry predictably applied and was accepted into the Auror division. In five days he would move onto the Auror Academy campus and begin his training. Perhaps even more predictable than Harry, was Hermione's acceptance into the Ministry Research Department. "Even Neville got into the department he wanted! Neville!" Ron continued, unable to believe that the boy who held the record for "most cauldrons melted" was treated better by the Ministry than he was.  
  
"Now Ron, that's not fair," Hermione interjected. "Neville may not be very good at other things, but Professor Sprout said he was one of the best herbology student she'd ever seen. He deserved to get into his department." The minute the words left Hermione's mouth, she knew they were the wrong ones.  
  
"Are you implying that I didn't deserve to be an Auror?" Ron asked seethingly.  
  
"Ron, that's not what she meant," Harry started.   
  
"No, I think it is," Ron continued, "She's Hermione Granger-one of the smartest Hogwarts has seen. You're Harry Potter-The Boy Who Lived and Quidditch extraordinaire, and apparently Neville Longbottom is some sort of Herbology prodigy. You three deserve to be where you are. I'm a just another Weasley." Ron stomped up to the room he and Harry were sharing and slammed the door, leaving his friends in the garden.  
  
Harry and Hermione silently finished disposing of the garden gnomes and went back inside. Harry was staying once again with the Weasley's. It turned out that the Dursley's refused to take him back now that he had graduated, not that it bothered Harry, mind you. If he ever saw Dudley's porky face, Aunt Petunia's beady eyes, or Uncle Vernon's stupid moustache again, it would be too soon.  
  
Hermione was staying with the Weasley's as well. Her job at the ministry required her to be a little closer to the magical community than her parents' house. Percy married Penelope Clearwater at the beginning of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's seventh year at Hogwarts, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were kind enough to let her stay in his old room until she had saved enough to rent a small apartment.   
  
******  
Slowly Arthur Weasley made his way up the stairs to his son's bedroom door. "Ron," he said, giving the door a slight knock. He could hear Ron moving around in the room, but his son gave no indication that he was going to answer Arthur's knock. "Ron," he said through the door, "please let me in. Your mother told me what happened. Listen son, I'm really sorry that you didn't get into the Academy, but there's always next semester…I've got some good news for you." Arthur took the silence from his son's room to mean Ron *wasn't* leaping up to see what sort of news Arthur had to bring. A new tactic perhaps. "Your friends tell me you haven't eaten since lunch. I've got a plate here for you. Chicken. You're favorite…"  
  
A slight rustling let Arthur know that had done the trick, and it wasn't long before he was looking into the eyes of his youngest son. The term "young" hardly seemed appropriate anymore. Ron was 18, almost 19. Over the years he had grown to an impressive 6'1". He was lean, but not lanky, and his freckles became less noticeable with each year. He really was a remarkable young man. There was that word again: young. Arthur had to remind himself that even though his son looked like a man, he wasn't quite there yet, and little setbacks like the one today could be devastating. "Here you go," he said, gesturing to the plate of food.  
  
"Thanks," Ron said, taking a big bite out of a chicken leg. "You had something to tell me…"  
  
"Yeah," Arthur started. "Orion Starr-one of the guys in my department-just had a baby. Or rather, his wife did. He's taking a fairly long leave of absence to be with his new family..and…well, it wouldn't exactly be auror training, but we need someone to replace him-"  
  
"You want me to come work for YOU?" Ron said incredulously.  
  
"I'd like it if you would," Arthur replied, and quickly started again. "If you don't like it, you don't have to stay, but at least it's Ministry business. And, it'll give you a leg up when you apply for the academy next year. Please, just think about."  
  
"I'll do it." Ron said. Arthur noticed that he wasn't exactly leaping for joy, in fact he wasn't really showing any emotion other than a slight resignation. He was surprised when Ron reached out a free hand which he clasped firmly. Even more surprising was the grin Ron gave him while saying a mere "Thanks, Pop" before withdrawing back into his room, plate of chicken in hand.   
  
Arthur smiled as we walked back downstairs. Yes, it's true. His son wasn't yet a man, but he was well on his way. 


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Into the Ministry  
Author: Cyher  
Summary: Harry & Co. have joined the Ministry of Magic, but it's not quite as glamourous as they thought it would be.  
Disclaimer: Me? Own Harry Potter? You must be mad! Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling, her publishers, and Warner Brothers. They make all the money, too.  
  
  
Chapter 2  
  
The days flew by and before anyone knew it, it was time to start their jobs. Mrs. Weasley prepared the biggest breakfast any of them had ever seen outside of Hogwarts. There were pancakes and eggs, hot cereal, cold cereal, sausage, bacon, biscuits, if it was food, it was there. "Hermione," Ron said through a mouthful of oatmeal, "Why aren't you eating?"  
  
"I can't eat at a time like this," Hermione said clearly nervous about her new job. "What if I get there and they tell me they've made a mistake? What if they send me back home? What if…what if I'm no good at what they want me to do??"  
  
"Hermione," Ron countered, "Is there anything you're not good at? Other than flying?"  
  
"You think they'll make me fly??" Hermione's nervousness was quickly turning into outright panic.  
  
"Hermione, calm down. I'm sure you'll be doing the exact same sort of stuff you did at Hogwarts. Do you remember how much time we spent in the library?" Harry said with an air of certainty as he speared a piece of sausage.  
  
"You seem awfully confident," Ron said, once again through a mouthful of food. "You know, I've been thinking. Since we both couldn't get into the Academy, I'm glad you did. I've heard they're pretty rough on cadets. You can give me fair warning!"  
  
"I'll do that," Harry said, smiling at his friend (who was taking it quite well, in Harry's own opinion). It's true, Harry was pretty confident about being an Auror, and not without reason. His first four years of school were littered with run-ins with evil things that he managed to defeat and live through. The last three were rather uneventful, evil-wise.  
Just when it looked like Voldemort was about to rise again, everything stopped. Sure, there was still the occasional killing here and there, but nothing that was cause enough for major alarm, and nothing bad happened at Hogwarts.   
  
It was during that time that Harry's reputation really started to change. At 15 he was made Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team (a post he held for the remainder of his schooling). His team not only won the the Quidditch cup for the next 3 years, they also got national recognition in Quidditch Weekly and various other periodicals. Harry finally found himself famous for something he actually had skill at instead of something that he couldn't even remember, and he was more than willing to talk about it. Some even said he was a better Captain than both Oliver Wood and Charlie Weasley. He was also made a prefect, but missed out on Head Boy. Something about losing too many points during his first four years. He grew to 5'11" and lost the "scrawny boy look." That compared with his Quidditch rep quickly made him not only a Hogwarts champion, but also a Hogwarts heart throb.  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were just finishing breakfast when Arthur and Molly entered the kitchen. Molly came first, fussing over whether or not the three of them had enough to eat. Then came Arthur, straightening his tie before donning his robes. "Is it time to go already?" Ron said spooning the last bit of cereal into his mouth.   
  
"Calm down Ron, you've got a little time left before entering the working world," Arthur said with a chuckle. "There are a few people here that want to wish the three of you good luck on your first day." As if on cue, Ginny, Fred, George, and even Percy came bursting into the kitchen.  
  
Hugs, handshakes, and chatter abounded while the group made their way to the company cars Arthur had attained. Everyone was just about to the cars when Ginny came bounding out of the house, struggling with a giant dish. "Wait you guys! Don't leave yet!  
  
"Ginny, is that a pensieve?" Harry asked unbelievably.  
  
"Yes-"  
  
"Where'd you get one of those??" Ron, the twins, and Percy all said simultaneously.   
  
"I was getting ready to explain, thank you." Ginny said, only slightly irritated. " The new professor of Muggle Studies loaned it to me. I'm doing a summer project for school. I'm making a…a…I think Professor Smith called it a 'documentary'. You guys say stuff to me, then I pull the memory into the pensieve and organize things until it all looks how I want it. Then it can be shown to other people, and it kind of shows people what things were like here. She said it's like the Wizard version of…video editing. I think that's the term. Anyway, just say something to me about going to the Ministry. It'll all make sense when I'm done! Ron, you go first."   
  
Ron's ears turned a slight shade of pink. It was quite obvious that the rest of the Weasleys had virtually no clue what Ginny was talking about. "Okay, umm," Ron started, "Ginny, I'm just supposed to look at you?" Ginny nodded her head and gave a slight eye roll before Ron continued. "Okay, I'm heading off to work with Dad in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. I'm not sure what I'll be doing, but I'll be with family, and friends will be nearby, so I can't be too bad off, can I?" Ron gave an uneasy smile and stepped out of Ginny's line of vision.  
  
"That was good Ron. Okay Hermione, you next!" Ginny said as she pulled her memory of Ron into the pensieve. Hermione stepped in front of Ginny and gave a polite smile. She knew a little more about this sort of thing than Ron and any of the other Weasleys, but she still wasn't quite comfortable in the limelight. "I'm going to the Department of Research. I guess I'll be researching things. From what I understand at this point I'll mostly be keeping track of all the Wizard Laws, researching for court cases and such. Um…I'm glad to be going, because…well, I guess it'll make me feel like all that time at school and in the library is finally paying off."  
  
It was Harry's turn next. He stepped in front of Ginny and gave a confident grin. While he had never been filmed before, he was well used to interviews. "I'm just glad we're all finally getting a chance to make a difference," he began. "When we were in school no one listened to us when we tried to talk about…things to come, but now that we're in the Ministry they have to listen." 


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Into the Ministry  
Author: Cyher  
Summary: Harry & Co. have joined the Ministry of Magic, but it's not quite as glamourous as they thought it would be.  
Disclaimer: Me? Own Harry Potter? You must be mad! Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling, her publishers, and Warner Brothers. They make all the money, too.  
  
  
Chapter 3  
  
"Come on all you scabs, line-up! Single-file! That's right single file means one behind the other! Move it!" Harry glanced from side to side as he stood in line at the Academy. People were everywhere. Cadets were talking. Instructors were screaming, it was one chaotic mess. Harry glanced back to the front gates where the Weasleys had bid him farewell. This time the space was occupied by a kid about Harry's age whose mother clearly wasn't happy about this new arrangement. Harry was turning back around when he felt a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"You!" a voice said as Harry was rather roughly turned around. He found himself staring at the neck of a fairly tall burly looking man with a crew cut. "What's your name Cadet?!"  
  
"Oh, er Harry Potter," Harry said, taken a bit by surprise.  
  
"Harry Potter, SIR!"  
  
"Right, yeah Harry Potter, sir." The man gave him a look that clearly said that wasn't quite how the answer was supposed to go.  
  
"Cadet Potter when you're done with registration report to the Company Barber for a haircut, immediately!"   
  
'Company Barber? Oh no, not another hair cut' Harry thought, remembering back to the time Petunia had tried to cut his hair. "Sir, it always grows like this-"  
  
"Potter I did not ask for your excuses I gave you an ORDER," the man yelled-mere inches from Harry's face. "Are we clear, Cadet?!"  
  
"Yes, Sir," Harry said, his cheeks beginning to flush with a mix of anger and embarrassment. The man turned on his heel and walked away. No doubt off to harass some other new cadet.   
  
The line started moving again, and Harry soon reached the first of several booths. At the first one a portly stern looking witch took his name, made sure he had signed all of his paperwork, and proceeded to bombard him with questions. Name? Birthdate? Emergency Contacts? The list went on and on. With each answer, the woman tapped a small metal tag with her wand.  
  
When she was done, she passed the tag to a slight, gray haired wizard at the next booth and motioned for Harry to follow it. This man proceeded to take his medical history, again tapping the tag after each answer. This continued through several booths. Harry was asked questions and weighed, poked and measured, until he finally reached the last booth.   
  
At this booth a petite young witch with hazel eyes, fair skin, and brown hair asked for his name. "Harry Potter…ma'am," he said. The young woman gave a polite smile and ran her finger down a long list of names. "Ah, there you are," she said. "Mr. Potter, it appears that you'll be in the Wolf squadron," before continuing she tapped the metal tag with her twice with her wand and ran a thin chain through a hole in the top. Handing it to Harry she said, "This is your identification tag. You need to wear it around your neck at all times. Any questions?"  
  
"Yeah, uhh…where do I go from here?" Harry asked as he slipped the chain around his neck, and tucked it all under his shirt. "And, somebody said I needed a hair cut…"   
  
"Ah," the witch said with a smile. "I see you've met Lieutenant Strickland." With a wave of her wand she conjured a map for Harry. "The barber is located right here," she said while pointing to a small dot on the map. "You'll also need to stop by the tailor's shop to pick up your uniforms. After that go to the supply center and they'll have a bundle of items for you," she said, pointing out each place he would need to visit. "I suggest you hurry. In two hours you'll meet your squad at the west end of campus in front of Wolf Hall. You don't want to be late."  
  
Harry smiled, thanked the lady, and ran towards the barber.   
  
******  
The barber shop was surprisingly empty. There were six chairs, but only one was occupied. "Just have a seat anywhere, and I'll be there a minute," the barber said over his shoulder. Harry took the closest chair and stared at his hands, trying to ignore the zzzzz-yer sound of clippers coming from the seat behind him. When he finally looked into the mirror he realized that his hair had indeed gotten a little out of control. Harry looked down again. So far the Academy wasn't quite what he had expected. Actually, Harry didn't know what he expected, ut he thought it would be a bit more organized, and not quite so loud. Harry couldn't stop thinking about the big oaf who had ordered this haircut. He didn't need to shout like that in front of all the other cadets, Harry thought.  
  
"Oh dear me!" a voice said, snapping Harry out of his reverie. "I bet Lieutenant Stricklan wasn't happy about that…no sir." Harry looked around trying to find the source of the voice. The only other people in the shop were the barber and his other client. Harry soon realized that the speaker, was actually his own mirror. "Are, are you talking to me?" Harry whispered, not wanting to attract any more attention to himself.  
  
"A bit slow, aren't you?" the mirror retorted. "Just look at you. Hair hanging down over your ears and in your eyes. And it's sticking up everywhere! I'm amazed you were even let in the front gate!"  
  
Harry swiveled his chair around, and the mirror stopped talking. The barber had just finished with the other cadet, and the silence was refreshing. Nothing, however, could prepare him for the sight he was about to see. When he looked into the mirror across of the other cadet, he found himself staring into the cold blue eyes of Draco Malfoy. 


End file.
